Man, it just felt like the Vegas Golden Knights saw these guys a week or two ago. They were playing in Tampa and had an offensive power outage. Carl Lindbom was good enough to get a point. However, the Golden Knights still lost in overtime, 2-1.
Ironically, those same circumstances popped up on Thursday. Carl Lindbom was in net and the Golden Knights faced those same Lightning. The only difference? The game was at T-Mobile Arena. Would Golden Knights fans get a different result against this stellar team?
Well, it seemed like that after a strong first period. Ivan Barbashev had two goals to put Vegas ahead, 2-0. But everything collapsed.
Take your pick from the many issues with the Golden Knights after the first period. Not cashing in on an Andrei Vasilevskiy double-minor is one problem. The Lightning scoring all six goals after the first period is another. Whatever the case, it wasn't pretty after the first intermission. The rotten cherry on top was Nikita Kucherov and Brandon Hagel getting two goals each in a 6-3 win.
Talk about your fall from grace in this one, eh?
But in all seriousness, there was some good in Thursday's loss along with the bad (more on that later). Let's focus on one major positive that stood out for the Golden Knights on a gloomy Thursday in November. That way, we can see what went wrong for Vegas in this underwhelming loss.
A surprising benefactor of Mitch Marner and Jack Eichel reuniting on the same line is Ivan Barbashev
It's no secret that Ivan Barbashev has been excellent in the past few games. Entering Thursday's game, the Russian winger has a goal and two assists in his last three games. However, he was back to feasting on rebounds as he did with the first goal.
Overall, Barbashev had two goals in Thursday's contest, bumping his total up to six. Nobody expected him to be the benefactor of Mitch Marner and Jack Eichel. While the two are the biggest names on the Golden Knights, Barbashev emerged as the main point of offense for Vegas. But not everything was perfect for the Golden Knights on Thursday...
The Golden Knights had a second period to forget against the Tampa Bay Lightning
It started with a defensive zone giveaway that led to a Gage Goncalves goal. Then, it was Dominic James getting in on the action. After that? Barbashev was called for tripping Yanni Gourde. Everything else fell apart.
Overall, it was a period to forget for the Golden Knights. They let a 2-0 lead slip and let Andrei Vasilevskiy get comfortable after an angry Russian winger scored on him twice. Turnovers and other mistakes will hurt a team, especially when they have a lead.
If Vegas is in the Stanley Cup playoffs, that can't happen. Last season, the Golden Knights had the fifth-highest giveaways per game (15.90). That's partially what did them in against the Edmonton Oilers last season. That's what will do them in if they don't change their ways.